


ties between families, tangled together

by ghostinthebook



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Family, Family Dynamics, How Do I Tag, Mostly Fluff, Multi, POV Clary Fray, POV Isabelle Lightwood, Siblings, Step-parents, Step-siblings, lots of steps, might throw in the occasional angst, probably more povs later but that's chptr 1, too many tags but whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-02-29 09:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18775822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostinthebook/pseuds/ghostinthebook
Summary: Maryse has four kids. Luke has one. How will all those kids react when Luke and Maryse start dating?





	1. confused kids

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy!!!!!

“I’m seeing someone.”

Those words shouldn’t have been so shocking, Izzy thought. Her mom, Maryse, had been divorced for well over a year, and Robert, her dad, was very much out of the picture now, only showing up for very special occasions, or if Maryse wouldn’t be there. She knew that her mom had definitely moved on, but to be dating again? And for the relationship to be significant enough that she brought all four of her kids to the same place to tell them?

He better be worth it, Izzy thought.

“Who is it, do we know him?” Jace asked, seeming to have recovered from the initial shock first. As Izzy looked around, she saw that all three of her brothers looked as surprised as she was. Max seemed the most surprised, but since he was the only one who still lived at home, just having gotten into highschool and all that, he’s probably wondering how she had managed to date someone without him noticing.

“Luke. Luke Garroway,” she said. She looked nervous, tapping her side with one of her hands as she waited for her children to respond. Izzy could understand her nerves. The need to be approved by your love ones is something that she never managed to escape. Maryse started to speak again. “You probably don’t know him. He’s a cop, and a very good man. I’d like to have dinner tomorrow, with all of you, to introduce you to him and his daughter.”

What? Izzy looked around again, and again, everyone was surprised. When Maryse started talking about dinner, the level of stress had raised for all of them. She would only be introducing them if she was very serious with him, so that meant it was likely they were meeting their future stepfather, if everything went according to plan. And now they learn he has a daughter, too? Say hello to the future stepsister, it seems.

As long as they got along, it would be fine. They didn’t need to be best friends, or anything like that, they just need to tolerate each other at holidays and family dinners.

It would be fine.

“His daughter?” Alec said, looking at Maryse. Alec was the one who liked change the least, and was also fiercely protective of his siblings. If Alec and this new girl didn’t get along, there would definitely be trouble there.

“Her name is Clary, short for Clarissa. She’s an adult, but still younger than Izzy.” Izzy was the youngest of the three adult kids, at twenty-one, with Jace being a few months older and Alec a few years. So that meant Clary was probably twenty, or maybe nineteen. Maryse continued. “I’ve already met her a few times, she’s a lovely girl. I think she’ll get along with all of you.”

Huh. So if it all worked out, they would be Alec, Jace, Izzy, Clary, and Max. Only Alec, Izzy, and Max were related by blood, but that didn’t make Jace any less their brother. Or wouldn’t make Clary any less their sister (well, stepsister).

Probably thinking a little too long term, Izzy thought. All of them were. Maryse just mentioned meeting her boyfriend and boyfriend’s daughter and they all seem to have accepted that they’ll now have a stepfather and stepsister. Gotta take it down a few pegs, Izzy thought.

“That sounds great,” Izzy said. “So dinner here tomorrow, or out?”

“Here,” Maryse said. She seemed to have brightened a bit, now that at least one of her children had shown approval. “I’ll make something and we’ll all have dinner, us and Luke and Clary, okay?”

Everyone responded back with an okay.

It was going to be okay.

* * *

“Four kids?!?” Clary exclaimed, looking at her stepfather.

Luke and her mom, Jocelyn had only been married for a month before Jocelyn had died. It broke both of their hearts, but that was years ago. They were still mourning, but it eventually had gotten easier. Luke had started dating this lady named Maryse. She was nice, great. It was fine. She knew that Maryse had a kid, based off of her phone’s lockscreen, her and a teenaged boy. Asked once, she had said that was her son Max.

But apparently that wasn’t her only kid.

“Yes, Maryse has four kids. Alec, Jace, Isabelle, and Max. All of them except for Max are older than you, but not by much. From what I’ve heard, they’re great kids.”

Clary wasn’t crazy about the implication there that Luke hadn’t even met Maryse’s kids yet. But she was going to try to trust him here, hope that it went well.

Cause if Luke and Maryse ended up staying together, then…

Goodbye, only child life. Hello, one of five.

Well, she was never really an only child. Her older brother, Jonathan, had died before she was even born. She was raised as an only child, but she had always had a brother-shaped hole in her heart.

Looking on the bright side, Clary thought. If all goes well, then she’ll have three brothers. Well, stepbrothers. And one stepsister.

Wow.

“Okay, trusting you here. When’s dinner, and what should I wear?”

Luke smiled.


	2. why me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clary refers to Luke as her dad even though he's her stepdad cause he's basically her dad. She never knew Valentine in this au, but Luke has always acted like her dad in all the ways that mattered. So, she's gonna call him dad here. Enjoy!!!

Simon woke up to someone banging on his apartment door.

“One second!” he yelled, then got up from the couch (sleeping on the couch, not the best idea in hindsight, Simon thought) and went to the door, looking in the peephole when he got there.

“Hey Clary,” he said as he opened the door. Clary walked right past him, grabbed his jacket off the table and his keys, wallet, and phone off the counter, then handed him all his stuff.

“We’re going to breakfast,” she said, no room for argument in her tone. Something was definitely bugging her. Simon tried to think of anything that must have happened in the last twenty-four hours to warrant this, and came up empty.

“Cool, cool, cool. I wasn’t doing anything this morning anyway. Why?” Simon asked, his confusion clear.

“I’ll tell you after I’ve had coffee.” She sat down on his couch as she waited for him to get ready to leave the house, and then left with him.

The drive was fairly quiet, them listening to an indie band Simon had heard recently on the way. He wondered what could have possibly put her in this mood. It wasn’t the anniversary of her mother’s death, or her brother’s, or her brother’s birthday, or anything he could think of. It must be something recent, he thought. Maybe one of her teachers ridiculed her art, or she got in a fight with Luke. Honestly, it could be anything.

They got there, sat down in a booth, and ordered their food. Once Clary got her coffee, she immediately took a sip, wincing at how hot it was.

“Slow down, you’re gonna burn your tongue,” Simon said. By now, he was getting concerned.

“You know how my dad’s dating someone?” Clary said, looking a bit miffed as she talked.

“Yeah, Maryse, uh, something. Why?” This was really confusing. Last he had checked, Clary and Maryse had gotten along pretty well. Did they get in a fight?

“Maryse Lightwood. Well, we’re going to dinner tonight, and I’m meeting her kids.”

“Didn’t you already know she had a kid?” Simon asked. This was getting more confusing by the second.

“Kids, plural, Simon. As in more than one. She has four freaking kids, Simon. Four!” Clary said, emphasizing that last four.

Wow, that was a lot, Simon thought. But it makes sense, cause from what he had heard, Maryse’s previous marriage had lasted quite a while before they had divorced. So having four kids? Not what everyone did, but not crazy.

At first, he couldn’t see why Clary was freaking out over it. It really wasn’t a big deal, how many kids her dad’s girlfriend had.

Unless, of course, Luke and Maryse were super serious with each other (which they were) and it was likely they would get married (which it was).

Oh. That’s why she’s freaking out.

She’s an only child, and it looks like she’ll have four future stepsiblings.

Huh.

“That is a lot, but don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Simon tried to reassure.

“I’m not even all that bothered by her having so many kids,” Clary said. She swung her legs up onto her seat and sat perpendicular to Simon, though she turned her head so she was still looking at him. “I’m bothered that my dad probably knew this the whole time and never bothered to say anything. Like, I get it would be a weird conversation, but a heads-up would have been nice?”

“I get it,” Simon said. “It came completely out of nowhere for you, and you’re expected to meet them tonight and get along.” Clary nodded. “But you’re scared that you won’t get along with all of them, and that wouldn’t be good.” Clary nodded again.

“Here’s my advice: don’t worry about it,” Simon continued. “It’ll go how it goes, the only thing you need to do is not, I don’t know, purposefully aggravate them. Just be yourself, and be nice. What happens, happens.”

“When did you get so smart?” Clary asked, looking at least slightly less nervous than before.

“While you studied the blade, I studied the self-help book,” Simon joked.

“Hey! If you were there, you would have agreed that those swords were beautiful,” Clary said, laughing.

“If you say so, Clary. If you say so.”

* * *

Alec unlocked the door to his apartment and walked in.

“Magnus? You home?” he said, loudly, in the entrance, to see if his boyfriend was home.

“In the kitchen,” Alec heard Magnus say. Then he heard the toaster go off.

“Are you making toast for lunch?” Alec asked while stepping into the kitchen. He looked at his boyfriend. It wasn’t Magnus’s day off, but the schedule today was weird enough that he could go home for lunch, but he would have an important meeting right when Alec was at dinner. That’s why Alec didn’t even bother to ask if Magnus could come.

Magnus could tell that something was wrong last night, but he didn’t press. He knew Alec would tell him when he was ready to.

“I’m not making toast, I’m toasting the bread for my sandwich,” Magnus said, gesturing to the sandwich-y foods on the counter.

“Why didn’t you just buy a sandwich?” Alec raised an eyebrow.

“I bought too much bread, so unless you want toast for breakfast for the next week…”

“Okay, I get it. Oh, I forgot,” Alec said, leaning forward to kiss Magnus.

Magnus returned the kiss, then returned to making his food. “What did you forget?”

Alec was confused for a second, then responded.

“I forgot the kiss. From when I walked in. But I do have something to say, so I guess you could say I forgot to say it? That doesn’t make sense, nevermind.”

“It made sense. Say what you want to say,” Magnus said, plating his sandwich and walking over to the couch.

Alec followed, and sat down next to Magnus. He leaned into Magnus, relaxing for a moment. Magnus put down his food and looked at Alec.

“I’m going to dinner with my mom and my siblings tonight,” Alec said.

“That sounds nice, is that what you were going to say?” Magnus asked, absentmindedly running his fingers through Alec’s hair.

“Kinda. It’s not just my family. It’s my mom’s boyfriend and his daughter, too.”

Magnus’s hands stopped going through Alec’s hair.

“Maryse has a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, I was surprised too. And she’d only be mentioning him if they were serious, so it must’ve been going on for a while.”

“Well, that’s a bit unexpected,” Magnus said. “Do you know him?”

“No. His name is Luke something, and he’s a cop.”

Magnus’s eyes widened. “Luke Garroway?”

“Yeah, you know him?” Alec asked, looking more nervous than before.

“He’s a good friend of mine. We haven’t talked in a while, but I met him through a mutual friend and we get along. Don’t worry about him,” Magnus said.

“So he’s fine with… this?” Alec asked, gesturing between the two of them. That had been one of his main worries about this Luke guy and whatever his daughter’s name was. He didn’t want his mother’s boyfriend to turn out to be homophobic. That, and he was worried his siblings wouldn’t get along with them, or that either of them would get on his nerves, and a whole slew of other worries. He needed to calm down.

“Totally fine, don’t worry about that. And Clary’s nice, too. I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time at dinner, and if you don’t, you’ll have a lovely time with them eventually,” Magnus reassured.

“You sure?” Alec said.

“Positive,” Magnus said.

Alec wasn’t all the way convinced. If Luke and Clary didn’t get along with his siblings, there would be problems. Him, he didn’t care all that much. They could at least tolerate each other, if that meant his siblings were happy.

If his siblings were happy, he would be happy.

“Did you come home to get something, or did you just want to see me before dinner?” Magnus asked, looking at Alec again.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. Wanted to grab my bow, get some practice done.” Alec had gone pro on his archery a few years ago, and it was working out pretty well. He had started as a kid, and apparently had a “natural talent” for it. Archery also calmed him down, and it helped that it was also fun to do. And a good icebreaker, in awkward conversations.

Alec hated awkward conversations.

And this dinner would probably be full of them.

Ugh.

“You know where it is, have fun. Love you,” Magnus said, picking up his plate of food again.

“Love you too.”

Alec grabbed his stuff, including his bow, and left for the archery range. It was going to be a long night, meeting new people that he’ll probably be related to in less than a year, and no Magnus.

But he’d get through it.

He could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to have a habit of making pretty short first chapters, then significantly longer second chapters. Huh. Hoped you liked it <3


	3. conversation station

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's to chapters becoming increasingly longer as the work goes on *clink*

Luke knocked on the door to Maryse’s house while Clary stood to the side, waiting and worrying.

She wasn’t too worried, she told herself. After what Simon said, she was fine. She wasn’t really. But hey, fake it until you make it.

Maryse opened the door.

“Hi Luke,” she said softly, smiling as she did. Her dress looked new, and her hair was down. She looked to Clary. “Hi Clary,” she said, full of motherly affection.

It had been way too long since Clary had heard that.

“Hey Maryse,” she said, giving her a hug as she did. Why was she so worried about the dinner? Maryse was wonderful, so her kids ought to be wonderful, too.

She hoped. Now she was back to worrying again.

Great.

Once their hug was over, Luke stepped in and kissed Maryse. Clary was waiting for the day that it would no longer feel weird to her, but she was at the point where could see the two of them kiss without thinking of her mother every time, so that was a win.

“Hi,” Luke said once he was done kissing Maryse.

A teenager with brown hair and glasses poked his head out the door.

“Hey Luke,” he said, then immediately went back inside. Clary could tell from the one time she saw a photo of him that he was Max.

“Would you like to come inside now?” Maryse asked the two of them. They agreed and followed her inside.

“My other kids will be here soon enough, Max is the only one who lives here,” Maryse said. She left the room to go get Max, and came back with him soon enough.

“Max, this is Clary, Luke’s daughter. Say hi.”

Clary could see the split-second of confusion on his face. She called Luke her dad, and everyone else tended to call Luke her dad, but they weren’t biologically related. So, whenever they met someone new, there was confusion. Luke was black and had dark hair, while Clary was a white redhead. There was always a moment of surprise or confusion on the other’s face, when they told them. Max, though, very quickly got over his confusion.

“Hi, Clary,” he said, then stuck out his hand to shake. Clary shook his hand. “Hi, Max.”

Then, in quick succession, the oven timer went off, and there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get the door,” Max said as Maryse said “I’ll get the oven.”

At the door were three adults, two boys and a girl.

“Max!” the girl said as she hugged him. The two guys hugged Max too, and went inside.

One of the guys was blond, and had heterochromatic eyes. One looked blue, the other looked brown. He didn’t look anything like Maryse, but Clary wouldn’t be one to judge. That would feel hypocritical, given how people judge her and Luke. She knows that the people who are your parents don’t have to be you biological ones. Maryse was probably his stepmom, or his adopted mom. He looked like someone that would flirt with her, but given that they both knew they would potentially be stepsiblings, she knew he wouldn’t. The way he walked, she could tell he didn’t have a problem with confidence. Whether that was a mask or not, she didn’t know, but he seemed like he knew he was good. They might get along.

The girl was about the same height as Clary, but was wearing killer heels, so she definitely looked taller. She had dark hair and brown eyes, and actually looked quite a lot like Maryse, as if she were a young version of her. Her outfit and her makeup went beautifully together, so Clary knew she would be asking her for tips if they go along. She looked really happy, but that was probably because she was around her family. There was an air of seriousness to her, that made it seem as if she was older than she actually was. Yes, she could be happy, but she probably had to grow up fast. She was very attractive, so that was probably why she had to grow up fast; cat-callers and creeps. Ugh. Clary hoped they would be good friends. She looked like she would be a good friend.

The other boy was a tree, height-wise. He also had dark hair, except while the girl’s were brown, his were more hazel. Man, he was tall. He seemed to be the most serious of the bunch, but by judging the way he was looking at everyone else, he loved his family. If Clary were to be honest with herself, she’d admit that if these were any other circumstances, she would have flirted with him. He was very good-looking. But, since it looked like they would probably be related soon enough, she knew not to. Anyway, he was tall. That warranted repeating because he was at least a few inches taller than the other boy, and the other boy was a few inches taller than her, so there was a large height difference. 

So these were the other three. She really hoped they would get along.

She wanted to get along with them.

* * *

So this was them, Izzy thought.

The man, Luke, looked friendly. He was fairly tall, about as tall as Alec. Nothing really stood out about him. He was a good-looking older man, she could understand why her mother would be attracted to him. He had walked over to Maryse and had his arm around her, and looked at her in a way that Izzy couldn’t remember Robert doing, ever. That was good. Her mom needed someone who wouldn’t leave. They needed someone who wouldn’t leave. Luke seemed like a good guy.

Clary must be the redhead. There was a bit of confusion at first, seeing how Luke and Clary look so different, but Izzy got over it quickly. Clary was probably adopted, or Luke was her stepdad. Besides, Izzy was used to people being confused about her not looking like Jace, and even Max to an extent. The lighter hair color of their grandparents had skipped a generation and all the other kids, leaving Max sometimes looking more related to Jace than to Alec or Izzy. So, the difference in how different Luke and Clary look didn’t matter to Izzy. Clary seemed to be about her height, minus the heels. She looked to be analyzing Izzy and her brothers, which was understandable. This was the first time she was meeting them, after all. She gravitated towards Luke, almost subconsciously, it looked like. Izzy couldn’t really read her, but that was okay. As long as they got along over dinner, it would be fine.

“Kids,” Maryse said, getting their attention. “Meet Luke and Clary,” she said, gesturing to each of them as she said.

“Luke, Clary, this is Alec,” Maryse pointed to Alec. “Izzy,” she pointed to Izzy. “Jace,” another point. “And Max,” last one.

They all said hello, not delving into small talk just yet. There would be enough of that over dinner.

Before long, they were all sitting at the table, all seven of them. It was a good thing Maryse had a large table, Izzy thought. Otherwise, they’d be awkwardly crowded.

“So,” Jace said, wanting to start the conversation. “You in college?” That was a good topic to start on, she thought. Enough to learn something without getting too personal.

“Yeah, I’m majoring in psychology and minoring in art. I was going to major in art, but psychology’s a bit more safe, y’know? I love both, so why not major in the one that’ll get me a job, and do the other for fun?”

“I gotcha,” Jace responded. “I’m still in college too, majoring in music. I’ve been playing the piano since I was still living with my birth father, so I’m pretty good now.” Izzy knew the story. Jace’s birth father was abusive and all in all a terrible person, but he did teach Jace how to play piano. Jace had told her that in the early days, it was one of the few things that he had for himself, where he could enjoy himself. Even now, he loved to play.

“That’s cool,” Clary said. “What’s everyone else doing?”

“Majoring in biochemistry,” Izzy said. She had loved science for as long as she could remember, and it just made sense to her. It was fascinating and she had no regrets in picking biochemistry for her major.

“Just going to highschool. I’m on the basketball team,” Max said. He looked very proud of that fact, and Izzy was proud of him for it. He had worked hard to get on the team, and it showed in his games.

“Professional archer,” Alec said. “I go to competitions a lot.” Alec was a man of little words, but Izzy knew exactly what all of this meant to him. She had her science, Jace had his piano, and he had his bow. He won a lot of competitions, or at least was in the top few. He had poured his heart and soul into his practice, and she could tell. He was amazing at archery.

“Wow, that’s all really cool,” Clary said. She genuinely seemed to think so, too.

The conversation flowed pretty easily from there.

Somehow, it got to names.

“Everyone else’s names are so pretentious,” Max said. “I’m just Max. But everyone else at this table has super pretentious names, except maybe Mom.”

“You’re kinda right, Max,” Maryse agreed. “Although Maryse Lightwood still sounds quite fancy.”

“Lucian Garroway,” Luke said. “I sound like I should be an actor, not a cop.”

“Clarissa Adele Fairchild,” Clary said, and everyone at the table widened their eyes a bit. Izzy thought Clary's name sounded like a fictional character, honestly, but she wasn’t gonna say that out loud. It might be something she’s insecure about, so she’ll leave it be.

“Isabelle Sophia Lightwood. Thank you for that, Mom,” Izzy said, jokingly calling out her mother. Izzy actually liked her name quite a bit, but it tended to be a mouthful.

Maryse opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Alec spoke.

“Yeah, and thanks for Alexander Gideon Lightwood, by the way. Nine syllables,” Alec said.

“To be fair, Robert mostly chose your names. Jace already had a name when we adopted him, and I got to choose Max’s name.”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t blame you for Jonathan Christopher Herondale,” Jace said.

Everyone started laughing, except for two people at the table. Luke had winced when Jace had said Jonathan, and Clary looked like she was about to cry.

“Guys, guys, stop,” Izzy said, telling the others to stop laughing. Everyone looked at her, then heard Clary’s soft crying. They then looked at Clary.

“What’s wrong?” Maryse asked, voice full of concern. Clary was crying, so Luke answered for her.

“She had a brother named Jonathan. Died young,” he explained.

Oh. Oh no.

Izzy felt a lot of sadness for Clary in that moment. Clary used to have a brother. Izzy had three brothers, and knew that if anything happened to any of them, she’d be heartbroken. She couldn’t imagine what Clary felt right now.

“I’m gonna go get some air,” Clary said, walking out of the room. Jace looked guilty.

“I’ll go help her,” Izzy said, getting up and following her. She could hear Luke as she left, telling Jace it wasn’t his fault. She liked Luke.

Now, though, she needed to help Clary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a personal hc of mine that Clary likes psychology, so that's what you're getting in here. more of this fic coming soon, i don't have a schedule, sorry. though i try to update as often as i can. i started to write another fic, but it didn't work out so i'll rework that one, but that's one of the reasons this chapter took so long. hope you guys enjoyed it!!!


	4. anecdotes of antics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long!!! life was really busy, but here's chapter 4 now, hope you guys enjoy it!!!

Clary had to get out of there.

His name was Jonathan. Her possible future stepbrother, with the same name as her dead older brother. It wasn’t his fault, but it was too much, right now.

Normally, just hearing the name Jonathan didn’t do this to her. She would hear it, then maybe have a moment or two of grief, then she could go back to what she was doing. Right now, though, there was already enough stress in her head, so this was just the cherry on top. She was close to hyperventilating, it was all too much, too fast-

Suddenly, Izzy was there.

“What do you need me to do right now?” Izzy asked, quietly.

Clary thought about it for a second.

“Can you give me a hug?”

Before she knew it, Izzy’s arms were around her, holding her tight. This was definitely needed, Clary thought. She just felt so alone sometimes, the closest she ever had to a living brother was Simon. She wanted a sibling so badly, it hurt sometimes. But this, this hug was a sister hug. Isabelle had three brothers, she knew how to hug like a sibling. It almost made Clary cry more, knowing that Izzy was hugging her like a sister would. After a minute or so, Clary broke away from the hug, and wiped the tears off her face.

“Thank you,” Clary said, hoping that Izzy knew how much she meant it.

“You’re welcome,” Izzy said. “Do you want to talk about it, or go back inside, or anything like that?”

“Can we talk about random stuff for a bit? I need to get my mind off of it.”

“Sure,” Izzy responded. “I have a funny story, want to hear it?”

“Yeah,” Clary said, with a small smile. Izzy seemed to have some practice cheering people up, since she asked what Clary needed and then didn’t hesitate to do it. She really liked Izzy.

“So,” Izzy started. “My brother lives with his boyfriend, y’know?”

“Which brother?” Clary interrupted. Izzy had three brothers, how could she know which one?

“Alec, the tall, dark-haired one. He’s gay, Jace is straight, and Max hasn’t said anything about it yet so I’m not gonna assume.”

Alec was gay? Clary never would have called that, to be honest. Well, maybe when she got to know him better, but from first impressions, she wouldn’t have said he was gay. Teach her to assume, she thought.

“Okay, Alec lives with his boyfriend. Continue?” Clary said.

“Alec also has a fear of spiders. It’s not that bad, but his first instinct on seeing even the tiniest of spiders is to run. So, I’m visiting Alec while his boyfriend, Magnus, is out. Alec sees a spider on the wall of the kitchen and books it to the living room and stands on the couch. I’m still in the kitchen, just dying of laughter, and then Magnus comes home.”

“What happened then?” Clary asked, giggling behind her hand. Izzy is laughing, too, as she tells the story, affection for her brother in her eyes. This family is so close to each other, Clary thought.

“Magnus sees Alec, standing on the couch like it’s normal, and just says ‘spider?’ and Alec nods and then he asks where and Alec says ‘kitchen’ and Magnus just walks over there and does that thing where you get a piece of paper and a glass to pick a bug up? You know that thing? And he lets it out of the window. The casual way he did it made me think it happened more than once and isn’t that funny? My serious brother standing on the couch while his boyfriend gets the spider?”

Izzy can barely tell the story near the end, she’s laughing so hard. Clary joined her laughter, imagining Alec standing on a couch. It was a funny image, for sure, Clary thought.

“Anyway,” Izzy continued. “We all have weird fears. Jace gets uncomfortable around ducks, isn’t that strange? I won’t give up mine and Max’s fears, though. Can’t give you too much blackmail yet,” Izzy said with a playful wink at the end.

Clary hoped having a sister felt like this. Talking, having fun, getting deep.

She hoped to find out soon.

“Well, you told me one story,” Clary said. “Now I have to tell one too. Simple economics, and all that,” she said, slightly sarcastic at the end.

“Yeah, of course,” Izzy said.

Clary started her story.

* * *

“So, my best friend is named Simon,” Clary started. Izzy was starting to really like this girl. She had bounced back really well from the incident, and she was nice to be around. Man, being her stepsister would be cool.

“He’s in a band, and he plays guitar. One time, I was at his house, just hanging out. He brought out his guitar, and just started practicing some of his songs while I finished up my homework. He had a song that was a work in progress, so he worked on different chord progressions and all that stuff. Then the song sounded kinda familiar to me, so I pointed it out. A few minutes later, he looked me dead in the eye and said ‘I just subconsciously wrote the chords to All Star by Smash Mouth’. Can you believe that? It’s so ridiculous.”

Izzy started laughing, her smile so wide, it hurt a bit. This Simon guy sounded great, she kinda wanted to meet him after just that short story. And he was definitely lucky to have Clary as a friend.

“That’s hilarious,” Izzy said, once she was done laughing. Clary had been laughing too, and now they were both calmed down from it. The feeling in the air was significantly lighter than it was before, which let Izzy ask the next question.

“You ready to go inside now?” Izzy asked.

“Yeah, I am,” Clary answered. They started walking inside. Izzy decided on a whim to ask another question.

“Is Simon single?”

Clary stopped walking, and immediately started laughing so hard that she was basically folded over.

“I tell you that he’s one of the dorkiest guys that I know, and you want to date him?” Clary asked, smiling widely and giggling.

“I’ve dated a lot of guys, but none of the relationships have worked out. I haven’t dated a dork yet, and who knows? That could secretly be my type,” Izzy said, deciding to just be honest. She had surprised herself by being so blunt, but it was the truth. Nobody she had dated had been that dorky. And none of the relationships worked. Try new things, Izzy thought.

“I guess you have a point. Yeah, he’s single, and from what I know about you, he’d probably date you. Give me your number, I’ll pass it along to him.”

“I’ll give it to you after dinner, I forgot my phone inside,” Izzy said, walking into the house with Clary.

They entered the dining room again, and it was pretty quiet. Everyone was looking at Clary with worry.

“It’s fine, guys. I’m all good now. Sorry, Jace,” Clary said, addressing the table of people. Most of them looked relieved, if still slightly worried. Jace still looked guilty, but from the looks of it, he was trying to hide it. Izzy knew that later, she’d talk to him about it. Tell him how much Clary doesn’t blame him. But now, they were good. They just needed to get through the rest of dinner.


	5. after dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here are the Simon and Alec POVs again, enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was going surprisingly well, Alec thought.

He didn’t like Clary all that much when he met her. She seemed like she would be one of those bubbly, happy-go-lucky girls that got on his nerves. Pretty soon, he learned that it wasn’t the case. Yeah, she wasn’t as stoic as he tended to be, but she wasn’t grating to listen to. And the whole crying thing, he could understand that. You can’t choose what triggers you, and in her case, hearing the name caused her to cry. He felt bad for Jace, since he knew Jace would feel guilty about something that wasn’t his fault, but he didn’t blame Clary.

If one of his siblings died… he would be in pieces.

So, there wasn’t really a problem with Clary. He couldn’t see himself becoming her friend if they met any other way, but there was a chance for friendship here.

There wasn’t really a problem with Luke, either. He seemed like a better man than Robert, especially for Maryse, and that’s all Alec would have asked for. Well, that and getting along with and liking his siblings. Which, there wasn’t a problem in either area. He would have to keep his eye out, to make sure that Luke wouldn’t be like Robert, but he suspected that it would be fine.

Honestly, Alec didn’t really have any complaints. It could have been shorter, there could have been less drama, but all around, it went well.

As Clary and Luke left, Izzy gave her phone number to Clary, and they took a picture together. Alec doesn’t know why, but both of them were giggling as she put her number in Clary’s phone. He doesn’t really want to know. But it’s really nice that they’re getting along.

Izzy has three brothers, and now she has the chance at a sister. Alec can respect that she’s jumping at the chance. He doesn’t know what he’d do without Jace or Max. Or Izzy, for that matter. But having a brother is different than having a sister.

Soon enough, they were gone, the headlights of their car shining through the window, and then fading away.

“That went well, didn’t it?” Maryse asked, turning to her children.

Alec shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

“It went absolutely great,” Izzy said, her smile beaming. She seemed the happiest out of all of them, which was understandable.

“Fine,” Max said. From what Alec could gather about Max during the dinner, he seemed to have a good time. Not as good as Izzy, but not as indifferent as Alec.

Jace nodded. “Same as Max.”

Once Clary had calmed down and came back in with Izzy, she had been able to emphasize to Jace that no, it wasn’t his fault. He just happened to have the same name, and she was caught unprepared. It was fine, it likely wouldn’t happen again. After that, they seemed to get along.

“If we have nothing else to do here, I’m heading home. Bye mom, bye guys,” Alec said, giving hugs and then leaving. While turning on his car, he saw Jace and Izzy head out too.

As he headed down the road to take him home, to take him to Magnus, he thought about how it didn’t go that bad. It really could have gone worse.

He was actually looking forward to seeing them again.

But only a little bit, Alec told himself.

Only a little bit.

* * *

Simon was in the middle of rewatching the 1960’s Batman movie when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, and smiled.

“Hey Clary, how’d it go?” He asked as he paused the movie.

“Had some ups and downs, but overall, it was great. They’re all great people, it seems. How are you doing?” Clary responded. She sounded happy, like she wasn’t putting up a front. Simon could tell when she was putting on a front, and this wasn’t it. He was happy for her.

“That’s awesome, Clary. I’m watching a movie, guess which one. I’ll give you a hint; shark repellent.”

“Easy, it’s Batman: The Movie from 1966. Shark repellent bat spray. Oh, and I have a question for you.”

“You’re right, as always. Ask away,” Simon said. He was intrigued on what the question could be, he didn’t think that an almost-family dinner would lead to her having a question for him.

“Okay. Once we get off the phone, I’m going to send you a picture of a girl. Tell me if you want her number.”

“Uh, okay?” Simon said. He really didn’t know where this was going or where it came from.

Clary hung up after saying goodbye, and Simon went over to his texts.

The picture that Clary sent was of her and another girl. The other girl… wow.

She was taller than Clary (or maybe she was wearing heels?) and had dark hair and brown eyes. She looked absolutely amazing, and he didn’t get the vibe that she was a mean girl or something. Judging by how happy both of the girls looked in the picture, they got along.

Simon used to have a crush on Clary. It eventually faded away, after years and years of pining, but it was gone. And Simon thinks it has just been replaced by this girl.

The three dots that indicated that Clary was typing popped up. Simon waited until her text was sent to answer.

“Her name is Isabelle, nickname is Izzy. She’s really nice and I told her about you, and she wants your number.”

Simon couldn’t believe his luck.

“P L E A S E give her my number. You’re the best, Clary.”

“Sending it to her now. You too Si <3”

Simon was glad that everything went well at that dinner, it meant that Clary was in a good enough mood to give Simon that girl’s number… wait, who was that girl?

Did she meet her at the dinner, why else would Clary ask him now instead of earlier? And why would she meet her at dinner if it’s only supposed to be for Luke, Clary, Maryse, and Maryse’s kids… 

Wait.

Did Clary just give her future stepsister Simon’s number?

Simon quickly texted Clary.

“CLARY”

“Yes, Simon?”

“DID YOU MEET THIS GIRL AT THE DINNER WHERE YOU WERE MEETING YOUR POSSIBLE FUTURE STEPSIBLINGS”

“... yes?”

“ASDFGHJKL W H A T”

“I guess I should have mentioned that. I haven’t texted her your number yet, do you not want me to anymore?”

Simon thought about it. If they turned out to be good together, and a relationship would work, then all would be fine. But if not… yikes.

He decided to take the advice of an overused Vine.

Just do it.

“No, still give the number. I was caught off guard.”

“Whatever you say, Simon.”

Simon pressed play on his movie. Adam West’s Batman continued to run around a pier with a comically oversized bomb.

A few minutes later, he got a text.

“Hi, this is Isabelle, call me Izzy. Is this Simon?”

The butterflies in Simon’s stomach started a rave, strobe lights included.

“Yeah, this is Simon, Clary’s friend. Hi, Izzy.”

They texted for a very long time that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i typed most of this up while wearing Batman-themed pajama pants cause i love Batman, as you can tell from my references to the 1960's movie in Simon's POV. anyway, there will be a time jump next chapter, so there's that. hope y'all liked it <3


	6. wedding cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof this took a while to write. but hey, here it is, hope all you guys enjoyed reading this!!!

\---ONE YEAR LATER---

Luke and Maryse were getting married.

Clary was overjoyed that her dad (well, stepdad, but dad in every way that mattered) was able to find love again, especially in a woman like Maryse. She was happy for both of them, to be honest. She and Isabelle were standing by Maryse as the happy couple said their vows. Jace, Alec, and Max were standing by Luke. Simon and Magnus were in their seats, big smiles on their faces.

Once the vows were over, they kissed. Clary was used to Luke kissing Maryse now, and it didn’t feel as weird as it once did to see Luke not kissing Jocelyn. If Clary had to choose anyone to be her stepmom, she would have chosen Maryse.

After a little bit, they were at the… what was it called again? The food and dancing after the wedding? Clary wished she had her phone, so she could text Simon and ask, but her dress didn’t have pockets. She turned to Izzy, and whispered as Luke and Maryse started to dance.

“What’s this part called again?” Clary asked.

“The reception,” Izzy whispered back. Since they were both bridesmaids, they were wearing identical gold dresses. Clary loved that she was sitting next to Izzy, who was now more than just her best friend (other than Simon).

She was her stepsister.

Alec, Jace, and Max were her stepbrothers.

Wow, that was awesome to think about.

No one could ever replace the brother she never knew, Jonathan, but she wasn’t alone anymore. She had her four stepsiblings. And to add to that, there was also Alec’s fiancé, Magnus, and Simon was dating Isabelle. She also had her dad (who she always had, but still) and her stepmom now, Maryse.

She went from having only one person to call family, to needing two hands to count all of them.

It was amazing.

* * *

Alec watched his mom have her first dance with Luke, and felt happy for her.

She had not always been the best mom, but she was good now. And Luke, he was a great guy. Now, Luke was his stepdad. At first, that felt a bit weird. Especially since Robert was still alive, though not very present. Now, though, he could get used to this new truth. Luke was his stepdad.

Apparently, their honeymoon would be in Brazil. Not where Alec would choose personally, but a good choice.

As Alec looked at the engagement ring on his finger, he knew it would be his turn soon enough. And as if he were summoned by Alec’s thoughts, Magnus walked up to Alec and put a kiss on his cheek.

“Having fun?” Magnus asked Alec, whispering because the dancing was still going on.

“Yeah,” Alec responded. “You?”

“Never better,” Magnus said.

Magnus left Alec’s side soon after, since the solo dancing was now over, and someone called him over. Alec watched his fiancé go, and considered how lucky he was.

He had amazing siblings, great (or at least okay) parents, and a fiancé that was his whole world. Right now, he didn’t need anything else.

Speaking of siblings, Clary, his new stepsister, walked over to him.

“Alec, have you seen Simon or Izzy? It’ll be cake-cutting time soon enough and they need to be here for that.”

“I don’t know where they are, but they’re probably kissing in a corner somewhere. And the cake-cutting isn’t for at least another ten minutes, it’s fine,” Alec responded.

“Okay. Thanks,” Clary said, wandering off. Soon enough, she was replaced by Jace.

“Hey,” he said. Jace had been talking to nearly everyone at the wedding, since this was one of the few times all their friends were in one place. He had made his rounds around the room, and now sat by Alec again, where he had started.

“Mom and Luke are talking to one of Luke’s police friends about cryptids,” Jace said. “Apparently, she believes that werewolves exist? I don’t know why that topic came up at a wedding, but to each their own, I guess.”

“What else is going on? I don’t want to get up just yet,” Alec said. He knew that the moment he started walking around the room, a lot of people would want to talk to him. Alec wasn’t shy, or socially anxious, he just really hated small talk. So, he wanted to stay seated as long as possible (or until Magnus wanted to dance).

“Magnus is talking to Clary by the cake, cause I guess Mom and Luke are going to cut the cake soon. Max is talking to the flower girl, and I saw Izzy kissing Simon behind a vase.” Jace made a face as he said the last part.

Alec chuckled. “Tell Clary that’s where they are, she was looking for them earlier.”

“Okay, I will.” Jace paused. “Clary’s our stepsister now. We should make sure to include her in the next Lightwood sibling bonding time thing we do.”

They have had Lightwood sibling bonding time since Alec and Izzy were old enough to know what all those words meant. Then, when Max was born, and Jace was adopted, they included them in it, too. Every once in a while, they’d get together and just hang out. Whether they went out or stayed in, went to the mall or watched a movie on the couch, they made sure to have it often, to keep all of them close to each other. Jace had said to Alec, once, that it was one of the major things that made him feel like he belonged, at the beginning.

Including Clary would change the dynamic, but she was one of them now. She should be included.

“Yeah, she’s joined the family. We’ll invite her for the next one. Now go tell her which corner Simon and Izzy are making out in, she’s worried they won’t be there for cake-cutting.”

Jace left to find Clary, leaving Alec at the table.

Clary would be a great sister, Alec thought. Whatever doubts he had before, he didn’t have them now.

This will be great.

* * *

“Izzy! Simon!” Clary said, loudly.

Izzy pulled away from Simon. He had been her boyfriend for quite a while now, and it was still crazy to think that she could just kiss him, whenever she wanted. Only if he wanted a kiss too, of course, but that was most of the time for him as well.

So, of course, at her mother’s wedding, they snuck off so that they could kiss. A lot. Presently, they were behind a rather large vase. And now Clary was looking for them.

Clary hadn’t spotted them yet, but she was calling out their names near to them. Izzy doesn’t know for how long they were behind the vase, but it would probably be good to stop now, anyway.

Simon looked at her as she pulled away from the kiss, confusion giving way to realization once he figured out that Clary was nearby. They walked out from behind the vase, nearly walking into Clary.

“Oh, there you guys are. Cake’s about to be cut, get over here. Oh, Izzy, one sec,” Clary said, and then grabbed her purse. “Your makeup is a tiny bit off, barely noticeable but I know you’d want to fix it.” She pulled out a compact mirror and some makeup.

“But we wear different shades, wouldn’t it look…” Izzy stopped talking as she saw what Clary was holding out. It was her makeup, not Clary’s.

“You’re an angel, Clary. Like an actual angel,” she said, grabbing the makeup and mirror and fixing her makeup.

Her and Clary had become so much closer over the year they’ve known each other, enough that Isabelle would not hesitate to call her, her best friend. Not only her stepsister (to which, the only word that comes to mind for that is, yay!), but the girl she is closest to. Including her mom, who she had a rough patch with in her teenage years, but they were close now.

Also, Clary had introduced her to Simon. And being Simon’s girlfriend was amazing. He was so many things that her exes weren’t, and that turned out to be a really good thing. She loved Simon, and she was pretty sure that he loved her too. They hadn’t said it yet, but she thinks it will be soon. She’s already told Clary, many times, that she is really happy that Clary and Simon are friends, since that’s how they met.

Her and Clary did fight occasionally, but who doesn’t? And it wasn’t over big things, or too often.

All in all, Izzy loved her and Clary’s friendship.

She finished her makeup and handed all of it back to Clary, who put it in her purse again. How Clary managed to fit so much stuff in there, she doesn’t know.

“Let’s get that cake,” Simon said, smiling as he did. Izzy grabbed his hand and held it.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They all walked up to the cake. Luke and Maryse were already there, the photographer having them take pictures by the cake before the cake-cutting. They did a quick wave at the group before going back to the pictures, smiling widely. There was nothing fake about those smiles. Izzy was so happy for them.

Alec and Magnus walked up by them, hand in hand, soon followed by Jace and Max. They stood there as the cake was cut. Magnus and Simon went off to the side, letting them stand in the front together.

The children of the happy couple.

Alec, Izzy, Jace, Clary, and Max.

Brothers and sisters in every way that mattered.


End file.
